No More Road to Appleton

JCG posted:

So it looks like D3 baseball parents won't be dreaming of making the trek to Appleton, Wisconsin, to follow their sons to the D3 World Series.  The venues cannot handle an intended change in schedule to accommodate super-regional play.

http://www.d3baseball.com/nota...-appleton-after-2018

I wonder where it will end up? No indication in the linked story.

Left coast would be nice!  Maybe in SoCal -- all of those SCIAC teams are pretty close together and there are some nice venues, both college and MiLB.   Portland or Seattle could be cool (no pun intended) as well.

Hmmm...I'm guessing the new format will be better.

Selfishly, I don't like the move.

Yes it will, but appleton is going to be a tough avt to follow. 

Bring it to St. Louis! I know of a couple of nice minor league parks that I'm sure would love to host it! One hosted the D2 national championships a few years ago... after being turned down by the IHSA! lol 

This is really sad as, Appleton has been a wonderful and supportive location (like Omaha for D1). The people and the city were wonderful and supportive and the facility was top notch. I am sure they will find another suitable location, but I feel sorry for the folks in Appleton. The weather could be problematic there, but frankly I prefer a mid-west location, even with the weather issues....just because I love mid-west folks. I don't see it coming to the West Coast, but no offense, were just too busy out here. Somewhere in the mid-west with good airport access and hotel availability. I think the issue with Appleton has to do with the start of the MiLB team and this may be an issue at other locations, unless they schedule the home team away.    

BOF posted:

This is really sad as, Appleton has been a wonderful and supportive location (like Omaha for D1). The people and the city were wonderful and supportive and the facility was top notch. I am sure they will find another suitable location, but I feel sorry for the folks in Appleton. The weather could be problematic there, but frankly I prefer a mid-west location, even with the weather issues....just because I love mid-west folks. I don't see it coming to the West Coast, but no offense, were just too busy out here. Somewhere in the mid-west with good airport access and hotel availability. I think the issue with Appleton has to do with the start of the MiLB team and this may be an issue at other locations, unless they schedule the home team away.    

I don't know of any comparable facilities in the Midwest that wouldn't run into a similar situation--they'd all have professional tenants. USBank Stadium would be feasible, but having a large-capacity facility would probably not be in the best interests of the tournament, plus I think they'd be looking for something that's not buried in a major metropolis. The rest of the parks that are decent don't have the size.

Wichita?

Detroit wants in: 

http://www.detroitnews.com/sto...mpionships/88762628/

Nothing against the Midwest but a little warmer would be nice. 

One thing I don't like about Appleton is that very few people actually attend the games. How could they improve attendance? How about holding it near a baseball mecca... like LakePoint? Lots of tournaments around Memorial Day weekend. I think the closest minor league park is about 40 minutes away in Rome. They would have to coordinate schedules, but the CWS lasts less than a week. Do you think baseball families would make that drive?

Seems to me that Rookie League ballparks would be ideal in many ways.  FL or AZ.  They don't start up until late June.

JCG posted:

Seems to me that Rookie League ballparks would be ideal in many ways.  FL or AZ.  They don't start up until late June.

I don't think those would work.  They are not set up for fans to attend. Also, they actually are being used at the time of the D3 CWS with a number of players who are on the DL and also those who are in "extended" ST (did not make a roster for a full season). Separate from the facility issue would be having a group to do all the work to put on the CWS.

Finally, those fields don't have press  box facilities which would meet NCAA requirements.

What might work would be places which have short season teams, like the NY/PENN league or NWL.

While a bit of a challenge for travel from the South and West, a place like Doubleday field in Auburn NY makes sense.  Can fly into Syracuse, close to the HOF, awfully nice facility seating about 2,500 and very, very good community support, at least for the Doubleday short season team.  Aberdeen MD might be another similar type of option from the NY/PENN league.

When travel is considered, though, I would tend to think the NCAA will look toward the Mid-West, where they  won't find short season fields available.  Some really great facilities in the MWL (South Bend, Peoria, Lansing, etc) but they may run into similar use issues as Appleton.

JCG posted:

Seems to me that Rookie League ballparks would be ideal in many ways.  FL or AZ.  They don't start up until late June.

Or short season? Like Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen MD, which is next to Ripken Baseball youth baseball tournaments.

If the D3 CWS is less than a week it could be held in many places. It just takes a Stadium with its tenant on a road trip. The Big Ten plays its tournament at Target in alternate years.

The CWS for D3 requires a host school(s) for planning, staffing, and all that goes into running a tournament.  The NCAA is not going to take on those responsibilities.  The facility needs to be in an area close to D3 baseball programs so that all the people power and financial support comes locally.  Places like NY, Wisconsin, etc are D3 strongholds with many schools from which to draw for support.  I tend to think that has to be an important factor.

D3 has experience with Doubleday field in Auburn NY. It is the site of a Regional nearly every year.  One might think other places which could be in play would be Marietta and possibly the field in Jackson, Miss. which can be used by Millsaps and others in the SAA.

Memphis would be a perfect location, if they can use the Cardinals AAA field and could get the SAA schools nearby to sponsor it. Downtown stadium, lots of hotels. (great food!)

Adrian College in Michigan. New baseball field.

Bob

GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Right outside of St. Louis, already plays host to a couple of college teams along with special events for colleges. Field turf surface, nice amenities including indoor batting cages, clubhouse and athletic training room. Pressbox capable of broadcasting. Hosted the 2008 D2 College World Series. 

http://gatewaygrizzlies.com/sp...Ballpark_Information

Bulldog 19 posted:

GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Right outside of St. Louis, already plays host to a couple of college teams along with special events for colleges. Field turf surface, nice amenities including indoor batting cages, clubhouse and athletic training room. Pressbox capable of broadcasting. Hosted the 2008 D2 College World Series. 

http://gatewaygrizzlies.com/sp...Ballpark_Information

Same issue as Fox Cities. It has a pro tenant playing at that time.

Matt13 posted:

Bulldog 19 posted:

GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Right outside of St. Louis, already plays host to a couple of college teams along with special events for colleges. Field turf surface, nice amenities including indoor batting cages, clubhouse and athletic training room. Pressbox capable of broadcasting. Hosted the 2008 D2 College World Series. 

http://gatewaygrizzlies.com/sp...Ballpark_Information

Same issue as Fox Cities. It has a pro tenant playing at that time.

Yes, but I'll bet the league and team would be willing to adjust the schedule to make it work.. It probably would t be that difficult to do with this much advanced notice. 

Bulldog 19 posted:

Matt13 posted:

Bulldog 19 posted:

GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Right outside of St. Louis, already plays host to a couple of college teams along with special events for colleges. Field turf surface, nice amenities including indoor batting cages, clubhouse and athletic training room. Pressbox capable of broadcasting. Hosted the 2008 D2 College World Series. 

http://gatewaygrizzlies.com/sp...Ballpark_Information

Same issue as Fox Cities. It has a pro tenant playing at that time.

Yes, but I'll bet the league and team would be willing to adjust the schedule to make it work.. It probably would t be that difficult to do with this much advanced notice. 

I can't imagine a team willingly taking a 10- to 14-game road trip every year.

I thought it was saying 5-6 days? Or something like that? And yes, in that league, they do tend to take a couple of 9-12 game road trips throughout the season. 

Bulldog 19 posted:

I thought it was saying 5-6 days? Or something like that? And yes, in that league, they do tend to take a couple of 9-12 game road trips throughout the season. 

That's what it is currently. They are adding an additional week.

Matt13 they are not adding another week to the schedule they are now going to have "super-regionals" which adds another week in the process of getting TO the CWS, which pushed the start back one week. The D3 WS is usually at 5-6 day process depending on weather. The only problem with Appleton was the weather at that time of the year and it was troublesome to get the games in due to rain. They were constantly trying to get games in at 11PM at night and early the next morning since they had to complete the tournament before the pro team came back from their away schedule. 

I think with advanced planning a pro team could schedule an road trip if they wanted to accommodate the tournament, but it is a massive amount of work and needs the commitment from the community.